


A Promise to the Lost

by layalee



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Emotional Hurt, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, Season/Series 03 Spoilers, Series Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-22 05:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3717016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/layalee/pseuds/layalee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity makes a late-night visit to the cemetery.<br/>This one-shot is set after 3x02 but before 3x03.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Promise to the Lost

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Okay so this idea has been bouncing around in my head for ages and I finally gave up, sat down, and wrote it down. It's sort of angst-y mixed with fluff. I know, weird combination. I hope you like it!

 

            Felicity stepped out of her car and breathed in the crisp air. Clutching the two small bouquets of flowers in her hands, she made her way to her destination, weaving around the graves. Glancing around her as she walked, she ruefully admitted to herself that visiting the cemetery at night was a tad too freaky, but it also somehow felt right. For what she wanted to do, she needed the cloak of darkness that the night protectively provided.

            Snapping out of her thoughts, which always tended to stray, she continued making her way to Sara Lance’s grave. A pang of sadness hit her as she thought of Sara. She was always so kind to Felicity, even when Felicity wasn’t particularly welcoming herself. Sara had a quiet understanding about her that made Felicity realize that the other woman was perceptive enough to have caught on to Felicity’s feelings for one green vigilante. Felicity sighed; it was not the time to think of Oliver Queen. Not yet.

            Stopping by Sara’s headstone, Felicity knelt down, placing one bouquet of flower by it. She traced her fingertips over the words engraved into the headstone, the pang of sadness increasing until it was an insistent throb in her heart. She missed Sara. She might not have known her that well, but she was part of Team Arrow, and Team Arrow was family.          

            “Hey Sara,” she said quietly. “You’re missed. It’s been a while since you’ve been gone, and I hope you’ve found peace.”

Felicity sat there and talked about Starling City, about her new job, about John and Lyla’s baby who was named after Sara. Felicity talked about inconsequential things, getting Sara up to speed on gossip and news and anything else that came to mind. She didn’t know if Sara would be able to hear all this, but it made Felicity feel better all the same.

Finally, she stood up. Before she left, she said one last thing. “Oliver is doing well. He… took your death hard. We all did. But he took it harder than all of us. He’d already lost you twice, and this third time… Well, I’m just glad he’s doing better. We’re still looking for your killer and I think that gives him some purpose, something else to keep his mind occupied. He really loved you.” She turned around to leave, but glanced back at the delicate headstone one last time, and whispered, “I’m glad you two had each other.”

Clutching the other bouquet of flowers, Felicity dashed her hand under her eyes to wipe the tears she had unknowingly shed. She took deep breaths to try to loosen the lump in her throat. But when she thought about what she was going to do next, her heart began to thump erratically.

Ignoring the nervousness in her stomach, she determinedly made her way to the second grave she planned to visit. Halting in front of it less than a couple of minutes later, she looked down at the headstone and said, “Good evening, Mrs. Queen.”

 

***

 

                She’d never liked Moira Queen. Felicity would be the first to admit that. The older woman had always treated her with a slight air of condensation. Combine that with her veiled threat when Felicity confronted her about Thea Queen’s true paternity, Felicity never had the chance to warm up to her. But she was Oliver’s mother, and that meant something to her.

            “This is awkward, isn’t it?” she nervously asked, looking down at the headstone. She didn’t expect a response. Not really. Still, she looked up and around her, searching for any mysteries signs _from the beyond_. Felicity let out a nervous laugh and shook her head at herself. She was being ridiculous. Although, with wartime Japanese super-strength serums and super-powered metahumans in Central City, one could never be too sure.

            Kneeling down, she placed the second bouquet of flowers on the grave and gave a little sigh.

            “We didn’t know each other well. And I suppose it’s only fair to admit that I didn’t like you. But I know your son. I love your son. We’re not… He and I, we’re not together or anything. He’s made his choice clear; he can’t save the city and still be with me.”

            Felicity felt tears forming in her eyes and tried to fight them back. She’d cried enough about this and now wasn’t the time to break down. She had something to tell Moira Queen and she was going to say it.

            Taking a shaky breath, she continued. “I know why he made that choice. The thought of losing him brings me indescribable pain. I think the thought of losing me pains him too. He’s afraid of letting himself love me, because everyone he’s loved has somehow left him. His father, that woman Shado from the island and her father, Yao Fei. They all died. Slade Wilson was his friend and he turned against him. Oliver lost a good friend and mentor yet again. I wish to God that all that tragedy had left him when he came back to Starling City, but it didn’t. Tommy died. His best friend since childhood died in his arms. And then you died as well; I don’t think he’ll ever forgive himself for that.” Felicity bowed down her head for a moment, her throat clogged up and the tears now freely streaming down her face as she thought of Oliver’s pain. She didn’t wipe them away; why should she erase the proof of how much she cared for Starling City’s vigilante?

            Looking back up at Mrs. Queen’s grave, she went on. “Even Thea has disappeared. All of you, his friends and family and loved ones, he’s lost each and every one of you. I wish I could promise him that he won’t lose me but, well… Working with the Arrow is a dangerous business. And I refuse to make promises I cannot keep.”

            Felicity took a deep breath, listening to the sounds of the night. The crickets chirped, lending a creepy vibe to the cemetery. The wind howled, mourning the loss of the buried dead. Felicity tried to tune it all out. She wasn’t done talking.

            “But I will make you this promise, Mrs. Queen. I’ll take care of your son. I will do my utmost best to never leave him alone. I will love him, even if I’m forced to do it from a distance. I will stitch up his wounds and make sure he has a warm place to return to every night. I will listen to him, help him, be there for him. You may have been flawed, Mrs. Queen, and you may have done terrible things, but you loved your children. So I’m here to tell you that even though you left him, he’s not alone. He’s not alone.”

            Felicity stood up and blood rushed to her legs, making her lightheaded for a moment. She breathed in the crisp night air to clear her head, then smiled down at the grave. She turned around to walk back to her car, but then paused. Giving the tombstone one last glance, she whispered, “We’re going to be happy, Oliver and I. I don’t know when, or how, but I believe we’ll find our happiness together. When that happens, I’ll come back and tell you all about it. That’s another promise.”

            Felicity turned around and started the trek back to her car, accompanied by peaceful thoughts and a lighter heart.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I admit even I teared up a bit when thinking of Oliver's pain. I was thinking of writing a one-shot where Felicity visits Tommy's grave. Let me know what you think!


End file.
